Internet Resources for Highway Engineering

WEB SITES
Federal Government Agencies

Department of Transportation (DOT)
http://www.dot.gov
This is the mother of all federal transportation agencies. The amount of information actually present on this site is not overwhelming. A wealth of links to agencies that fall under the administration of the DOT are presented. Also available are press releases from DOT and the Secretary of Transportation. The DOT sites listed below are the agencies that are most directly related to highway engineering. Agencies that deal with air, water, rail, and intermodal transportation are also available.

DOT - Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)
http://www.bts.gov/
If there is one thing that the federal government does in an exemplary fashion, it is collect statistics. This is the site to visit if you are looking for any kind of data concerning transportation. Traffic safety data, population figures, surface transport of commodities, and more are available to help engineers plan forthcoming highway projects. Links to the National Transportation Library and to Geographic Information Systems are found here.

DOT - Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ [Note: Link moved; URL changed 9/8/98 by ald]
A rich source of information; the FHWA administers a federal aid program to states to help maintain the safety and integrity of the nation's highways. Aid comes in the form of financial assistance as well as help in planning and design of roads. The site provides access to publications and statistics of FHWA (to be downloaded). Also available is a list of current legislation affecting highway engineering and instructions for procurement agencies. FHWA also makes available links to every state transportation department at http://cti1.volpe.dot.gov/fhwa/related.html. [Link changed to http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/related.html 8/29/97]

DOT - FHWA - ITS Research Centers of Excellence
http://rce.tamu.edu/ [Note: Link moved; URL changed 9/8/98 by ald]
Funded by FHWA, three universities have research centers of excellence engage in research in ITS technology. ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) is a means of using advanced technologies to solve traffic and transportation problems. Research opportunities are diverse.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory - Center for Transportation Analysis (CTA)
http://cta.ed.ornl.gov/
Using data supplied by FHWA, BTS, and other sources, CTA provides analysis of problems in highway engineering. Bibliographies of reports, journal articles, and presentations made by CTA staff are provided; abstracts are included. CTA makes available the Oak Ridge Highway Network, a geographically-based analytic link-node network of major roadways. (Like many highways, this site is under construction.)

Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC)
http://www.tfhrc.gov
"Under the auspices of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the center provides the research and development needed to improve our national highway system." Research initiatives at TFHRC include ITS, Safety and Traffic Operations, and infrastructure. TFHRC makes their publications available in full-text, including technical reports and journals such as Public Roads magazine.

Professional Societies

American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
http://www.aashto.org/
An excellent source of technical information on the design, construction, and maintenance of highways, and other transportation facilities. Membership is only open to state transportation agencies. Non-members can order publications and read the online AASHTO Journal. Meeting information is available. [Note: URL corrected 9/8/97 by ald]

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
http://www.asce.org/
This is the largest professional society for civil engineers. Their website provides all of the information necessary for members to participate in society functions including membership application forms, publications, position announcements, and schedules of meetings. ASCE has recently instituted a "Grants Development Program" which facilitates fund seeking activities of its members.

Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)
http://www.ite.org
ITE is an association of transportation and traffic engineers, transportation planners and other professionals who are responsible for meeting mobility and safety needs. The web site provides information on job opportunities, conferences, transportation news, and publications available for sale from ITE.

Transportation Research Board (TRB)
http://www.nas.edu/trb/index.html
TRB is a unit of the National Research Council and National Academy of Sciences. Its purpose is " to stimulate research concerning the nature and performance of transportation systems, to disseminate the information produced by the research, and to encourage the application of appropriate research findings". The workings of the TRB are diverse and include Technical Activities, Studies and Information Services (i.e. policy reports), Cooperative Research Programs, and more. TRB is the publisher of the Transportation Research Information Service (TRIS); the foremost bibliographic database for transportation engineering. Registered DIALOG customers may search TRIS via telnet to DIALOG from this site. Other gateways (Easynet 2.0, Compuserv) are also available. TRB also provides some great links to other transportation sources.

Libraries and Commercial sites

Bridge Engineering Home Page
http://www.scsolutions.com/bridge.html
This site is created and maintained by SC Solutions; a private engineering firm. A fairly comprehensive source covering all aspects of bridge engineering with an excellent compilation of information and links to government agencies, universities, associations and companies. Their aim is to link to all bridge engineering related subject matter on the net.

Engineering Information, Inc.
http://www.ei.org/
The producers of Engineering Index have put the bibliographic database on the web. Subscribers can search the database back to 1980 using a web based search form. The annual subscription cost is not much more than the paper annual subscription. For an added fee, subscribers can have access to Ei's Engineering Village (TM) which brings together other resources of interest to engineers.

Online Library Catalogs with Strong Transportation Collections
http://iti.acns.nwu.edu/tran_res.html#telnet
[Note: Broken link removed 4/10/01 by ald] Links to some of the best engineering library catalogs in the U.S. This site was put together by Renee McHenry of the Northwestern University Transportation Library.

DISCUSSION GROUPS, LISTSERVS, BBS, USENET GROUPS

Department of Transportation Discussion Group
For information: http://calvin.cc.ndsu.nodak.edu/ugpti/dotlist.htm
Members from industry, government, and academia discuss current transportation issues.
Subscription address: listserv@vm1.nodak.edu.
subscribe DOT your full name [Note: Broken link to http://calvin.cc.ndsu.nodak.edu/ugpti/dotlist.htm removed 10/5/97 by ald]

Federal Highway Electronic Bulletin Board System, also administered by DOT
telnet://152.120.108.19 [Note: Broken link removed 7/18/00 by ald]

Intelligent Transportation Systems Listserv ITS-L
Research and development in ITS and its impact on society.
Subscription address: majordomo@mailhub.ornl.gov
subscribe its-l your email address

Intelligent-Vehicle-Highway-System (IVHS) listserv.
Sponsored by the Transportation Research Board.
Subscription address: majordomo@mailhub.ornl.gov
subscribe IVHS-L your e-mail address.

Transportation discussion Group TRANS-L
Subscription address: listproc@gmu.edu
subscribe transp-l .

Vehicles/Roads e-mail Network
Of interest to engineers in technical, operational or regulatory aspects of heavy vehicles, road damage, bridges, vehicle/road interaction, weigh-in-motion, heavy vehicle safety, or other related subjects.
Subscription address: send a message to David Cebon (dc@eng.cam.ac.uk) if you wish to join.

Civil Engineering Newsgroup
All of aspects of civil engineering discussed. Transportation and highway issues are a favorite topic.
sci.engr.civil